Kickstart My Heart (Burgers and Brew Crue #1) - Lacey Black Page 0,16
in front of her.
“Thank you,” she whispers, taking the drinks and heading back into the restaurant, my eyes following her the entire time.
***
Kellen arrives just before four, so I clean out the tip jar and make a retreat to my office to get a little paperwork done. First though, I need some food.
“Hey, man,” I holler, as I push through the double swinging doors and find Jasper by the grill. He throws me a pointed look, a reminder he doesn’t like anyone in his kitchen, but I ignore him, like always.
“Here,” he says, sliding a plate across the counter toward me.
“What’s this?” I ask, noticing the huge burger and pile of steak fries.
“Up All Night. I was making one for Newton, so I threw one on for you too,” Jasper replies, throwing four homemade, freshly pressed patties on the grill.
“I don’t like swiss,” I grumble.
“I know,” he sighs. “I used cheddar for you and threw on extra mushrooms.”
I grin, secretly loving when he has to alter his perfectly crafted burger creations for one of us. Mostly because it pisses him off that not everyone likes everything he puts together. I find it amusing when he gets all worked up and tries to argue with us, trying to convince us we like something we don’t. “Appreciate it,” I holler with a grin as I slip back out of the kitchen with my food. He mumbles something as I go, but I don’t pay much attention. Instead, my focus is now on the blonde standing in front of me at the servers’ station.
“Afternoon go okay?” I ask, as I slip in behind her, the scent of vanilla filling my senses, which tells me I’m too fucking close to her. Yet, as I grab a bottle of mustard, I can’t seem to force my legs to move back.
She gives me a warm smile. “Yeah, it went good.”
My heart does this weird double-beat thing when our eyes met.
Mallory looks down at her watch. “Shoot, I have to go,” she mumbles, using the computer system to clock out before turning and heading out of the restaurant. “See you later, Walker.”
I wave, watching her ass as she goes because it really is a spectacular view. After squirting a generous blob of mustard on my plate and chatting with Gigi about the incident from earlier, I take my food and head to my office. When I reach the hallway, I find Numbers there, talking in hushed tones. As I approach to slip past them, I realize he’s talking to Mallory.
Something burns in my chest as I watch them talk, their heads pulled in close, as if they don’t want to be overheard.
Mallory notices me first and pulls back, giving me a small smile. Isaac glances to his right but doesn’t move right away. “Hey, man.”
“Hey,” I respond, my feet stuck on the floor. I glance from him to her, this weird tightness settling in my chest. They aren’t doing anything wrong, per se, but I don’t like the fact they’re standing so close in the hallway talking.
What the hell?
Is this…jealousy I feel?
I clear my throat and pass by them, trying to keep my eyes down. Unfortunately, my eyes don’t get the memo and they glance up right when I pass by. She looks unaffected as she slings her purse over her shoulder and waves goodbye, slipping out the back door in a rush. She moves so quickly, it only hits me a few long seconds later that no one escorted her outside to her car. I push open the back door just in time to see her getting into her small SUV. Only when I see it back out of the parking spot do I move on.
When I push through my office door, I can tell I’m not alone. “You got a minute?” Isaac asks, following behind me and taking the empty seat across from my workspace.
“Sure, if you don’t mind if I eat while we talk. I’m starving,” I reply, trying hard to push any thought of Isaac and Mallory together out of my mind. I should be happy for my friend, but I’m not. It pisses me the hell off.
“Go ahead. I just wanted to get your take on what happened earlier.”
I swipe a fry through the mustard and pop it into my mouth before I reply. “Group of four guys eating lunch and one got a little handsy with Mal.”